“Access to funding is vital in turning ideas into life-saving products and I am confident we will see effective new healthcare products reach the market as a direct result of this new source of capital.”

Mr Curnock Cook said small healthcare and biomedical companies were particularly suitable for venture capital investment because of the size of the opportunity and the high potential returns.

“You need high returns to match the higher risk but with judicious selection, there is no reason why investors should not do very well out of this sort of investment,’’ he said.

The A$50M BioScience Managers Ventures I Fund is the first of a planned series of funds, designed for Significant Investor Visa (SIV) applicants and will be offered as a venture capital opportunity exclusively to clients of leading fund manager BT Investment Management (ASX: BTT).

BTIM Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Emilio Gonzalez, said: “We are pleased to be able to provide our SIV investors with access to such a high calibre healthcare investment specialist. The fund will provide our growing number of SIV clients with the opportunity to invest in innovative earlier-stage healthcare solutions, underpinning Australia’s ability to meet the increasing healthcare needs of an aging population. This provides a winning solution for both our investors and healthcare innovation in Australia.”